Northern Bobwhite Management in Tennessee 2021-2026
A Strategic Plan for Northern Bobwhites in Tennessee
The Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is the state game bird of Tennessee and an important part of the state’s landscape and heritage. Northern Bobwhite populations have declined dramatically range-wide since the 1950s, primarily due to landscape-scale habitat conversion and loss.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) collaborates with a myriad of partners to foster robust, self-sustaining Northern Bobwhite populations by enhancing existing and developing new habitats across the state.
The TWRA Northern Bobwhite Management Team (commonly called the Quail Team) is a group of TWRA staff assembled in 2017 to develop a statewide management plan, to inform management strategies and to advance the rebuilding of Northern Bobwhite populations in Tennessee.
The resulting Northern Bobwhite Management Plan will guide TWRA’s management actions and planning for the next 5 years. The Plan includes a long-term vision, four broad goals, and supporting objectives with defined strategies to serve as a framework for Northern Bobwhite conservation in Tennessee.
The vision of this plan is: To rebuild, manage, and monitor Northern Bobwhite populations in suitable habitats while partnering with stakeholders and continuously evaluating conservation efforts with an adaptive management approach.